Björnska in the Maia Song Contest 17

Björnska will participate in the Maia Song Contest 17 with the entry to be internally selected by the Francophone-Celtian broadcaster Øén. This will be the second time the broadcaster has taken the role of national broadcaster, following financial difficulties within BTV. The entry was revealed on 17 March 2018 as "Ghost Voices" performed by Virtual Self (an alias of electronic music producer Porter Robinson).

Background
Prior to #17, Björnska had competed sixteen times since its debut in the first edition. Although the country has not yet won the contest, its best placement came in Maia Song Contest 2 when Five Knives was the runner-up with their song "Savages". The country's worst placement came in the twelfth edition when Matt Wills' song "Set You Free" failed to qualify, placing seventeenth in the second semi-final that year. That occasion marks one of only two editions wherein the country failed to make the final, the only other occasion being in #15 when Paloma Faith placed thirteenth in the second semi-final with "Crybaby".

National broadcaster
BTV and Øén issued a joint statement on 8 March 2018, explaining that they are currently in a process of negotiating a deal with the MBU, and that Björnsk participation is dependent on the outcome of those negotiations. On 13 March, it was announced that Øén would retain the role of national broadcaster until the BTV financial crisis can be resolved, if at all.

Internal selection
Øén was confirmed as the broadcaster that would select the Björnsk entry on 13 March 2018. They announced that they would opt to internally select the participant once again. Despite earlier reports that the entry would be revealed on 20 March, Øén confirmed that the entry would be officially unveiled on 18 March 2018.

The entry was revealed at midnight on 18 March 2018 through television channels Øén, BTV2, Slay TV, as well as numerous radio stations, as "Ghost Voices" performed by Virtual Self - an alias of electronic artist Porter Robinson. The song received an approval rating of 89% among the general public, although the release was met with mixed reviews from music critics. Among the main criticisms were the lyrical content of the song, with Nikolas Holmgren of the An Solen newspaper stating "The song is nothing more than six words repeated in different combinations. I wouldn't be surprised if the MBU disqualified the song, and they should". Following the publication of said review, Björnsk Eurofans trended the hashtag #BoycottAnSolen for two days, and the National Academy of Composers announced they would donate 5,000 BJK towards the live performance as a sign of their 'full backing of the entry'.

At Maia Song Contest
According to contest rules, all countries must qualify through one of two semi-finals in order to compete in the grand final - with the exception of the "Big Six" (host nation + five highest-scoring entries in the previous edition). As Björnska fulfils neither of these criteria, the Björnsk participant will compete in one of two semi-finals. It is expected that countries will be allocated to a semi-final using voting patterns from previous editions, in which case, a special semi-final allocation draw will be held in the host nation to do so.

All three shows will be broadcast live on Øén 1.

Voting
Voting during the three shows consisted of a 50/50 combination of televoting and the votes from a national, professional jury. The jury will consist of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury will be asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury can be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

The following five members comprised the Björnsk jury:


 * Emil Berg – Chairperson – singer, represented Björnska in Maia Song Contest 1
 * Ari Ólafsson – singer, television personality, social media blogger
 * Bea Miller – singer-songwriter, actress, runner-up of Björnskfestivalen 9 and The Voice 2015
 * Nadia Élodisdóttir – playlist curator for Spotify
 * Viktor Norddahl – entertainment journalist, LGBT columnist

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Björnska and awarded by Björnska in the semi-final and grand final of the contest,